Sinclair Basketball visits Veterans at the Dayton VA

Veterans Affair Medical Center Saturday. This was the 10th straight year the Men’s team visited the VA as they spent time with the inpatients and their families. Many of the veterans are alone not getting many visitors and they were thankful that the team took time out of their busy schedule at the start of the season to come over and spend time.

Several of the veterans are from the Dayton area and the team was able to make connections with them that sparked very interesting conversations. Some even opened up to sharing stories of their enlistment.

Players had a great time bonding with not only with the veterans, but with each other as well. They developed an understanding and a greater appreciation of our veterans and what they sacrificed to protect this country’s freedom.

Over the years the team has made a special connection with Retired Sergeant Charlie Krandall of the 36th Army Infantry Division. The team usually spends the most time with Mr. Krandall when they visit the VA as he has become one of our honorary coaches. Sergeant Krandall was a POW for 22 months during World War II in Germany before escaping to safety.

The Dayton VA Medical Center proudly serves Veterans in Southwestern Ohio and Richmond, Indiana through one inpatient facility and four community based outpatient clinics. They have a proud heritage of providing high quality health care to those who have served our country since 1867. The Dayton VA is one of the three oldest VA facilities, providing continuous service to Veterans for over 140 years.

The Dayton VA Medical Center provides comprehensive health care through medical, surgical, mental health, geriatric, physical & rehabilitation services, neurology, oncology, dentistry, and hospice. The Medical Center has 467 hospital beds (225 nursing home beds, 127 Acute Care beds, and 115 domiciliary beds). The medical center also has sharing agreements with Wright Patterson Air Force (military base), in the state of Ohio, and eleven (11) community hospitals. The facility is a national referral center for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. It offers a wide variety of special programs as well, including a hospice unit, geriatric evaluation and management, respite care, an Alzheimer's unit, home base primary care, residential and outpatient post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse programs, as well as homeless, sleep disorder, and women's health programs.